Meditation

«When first setting out in the spiritual life, most people encounter a first obstacle: they are unable to meditate because they do not know how to concentrate. Why? First, because they have not learned how to choose subjects for meditation; they throw themselves into it blindly, with no method. The first rule is to choose a subject of a spiritual nature, and the second, a subject that is something heartfelt. The love you have for a person or an object is what attaches you to him or it. When you do not love, you are, if I dare say so, like a stamp without glue: you will not stick! Beginners make the mistake of wanting to concentrate right away on the most abstract, philosophical and mystical matters: truth, eternity, infinity, the Absolute, or the supreme Being... Begin instead by concentrating, for example, on a pure, beautiful image that you love, an image of nature or art. In this way, your brain will become accustomed to concentrating, and gradually you will be able to meditate on more abstract subjects. For results in the spiritual life, you must know how to use the marvellous power of love».[1]

«What is meditation? It is the concentration of thought on a philosophical or moral question, it is a manifestation of intelligence. Meditation is superior to concentration. Meditation contains an element of thought that works, while concentration manifests the predominance of the will and principally of a mechanical, automatic, purely physical will. In meditation there is certainly a concentration, but it is a concentration of thought».[2]

Introductory remarks

In the Teaching of Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov various types of meditative practices are proposed, of which meditation is only one of the possible forms.

To understand what they are and how they work, we should use the Synoptic Table: analyzing it we see that meditation can be found in the field of intellect, whose ideal is wisdom, the knowledge.

Therefore, we can say that meditation is a work of thought that allows us to know the spiritual nature of the subject on which we meditate.

There is a great difference between the normal mental activity of our brain and meditation. In the first case thoughts flow freely, in any inner state we find ourselves; the brain reflects, thinks, analyzes, but most often without a precise objective: it is a simple flow of thoughts and ideas. In order for our higher intellect (that "body" that Hindus call causal body) to become active, inner silence is needed.

Mental activity, thinking, therefore belongs to the mental body, which is part of the lower nature. Meditation is an activity of the superior nature, that is, of the causal body, which corresponds precisely to the superior intellect. But in order for this type of "thought" to become active, particular conditions are necessary and, more precisely, as we have already seen, one must be able to silence one's lower nature, through concentration and silence.

Let's try to understand what meditation is, in the sense proposed by Aïvanhov:

Through meditation the spiritual knowledge of what surrounds us develops, the intellect is nurtured, harmonized and strengthened. Not only that: meditation allows us to introduce elements of a spiritual nature into our being.

How to meditate

The essential prerequisites for a good meditation are 1) a correct posture, 2) a quiet and regular breathing 3) the tranquility of the environment, 4) the fact of having all the necessary time available without being pressed by all sorts of commitments and 5) the gradualness of entering into deep meditation. We must also be very careful and aware of our brain, because too fast a concentration can congest the cells of our nervous system, causing migraines.

«Meditation is a difficult exercise, as it requires great control over our thoughts. But thought is rebellious; it tends to go free and wander, and if you try to stop it abruptly your brain will seize up. As the brain is such a sensitive instrument, you have to start it up very gently, just as you warm up the engine in a car for a few moments before moving off. So, when you want to meditate, do not try to control your thoughts straight away. They will rebel and rear up, and you will gain nothing from them. Begin by getting yourself into a peaceful, harmonious state of mind; then slowly and gently lead your thoughts in the direction you want them to go. After a while they will be at your disposal and will obey you. You have to be very clever and very diplomatic with your thoughts. When you have learned to control them, you will even be astonished how tame they are: without any further intervention from you, they will carry on all day in the direction you sent them».[6]

The way just described to start a meditation allows us to recharge and regenerate all the cells, as well as preparing the whole body to receive the spiritual currents that can be benefited through meditation.

It is important to start the practice by meditating on subjects of a spiritual nature, that we love and appreciate, with whom one feels in affinity and harmony. It is the love one feels for something or someone that favors a subtle exchange with the subject on which one is meditating, be it a person, an invisible entity, a virtue or simply an abstract concept.

True meditation is a spiritual practice that must help us to come into contact with the Divine, to know Him, to serve Him and to merge with Him. Moreover, meditation allows us to bring these inner realizations into the concrete physical plane, to fulfill the precept that the Christ gave his disciples: «Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you».[13]

The mental void

According to Aïvanhov, the mental emptiness, as understood in Eastern philosophies, is a concept that must be better understood. We often hear that meditation serves to make a mental vacuum, but emptiness can not and should not be a goal. The emptiness serves to attract the fullness, the fullness of life, of joy, of love.

Emptiness is in fact a state of passivity, and is connected to the female principle, which is the receptive principle: one must therefore be very vigilant about who will fill this void, because where there is an emptiness there will be forces, energies, entities that will desire to fill it; the practitioner must be aware of what energies he is calling and for this he must be very pure, otherwise he will attract inferior entities, which will bring him psychic and emotional torments:

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Reader's note: the writing of this entry is temporary and limited to only a starting point, since the topic is examined by Omraam Mikhael Aïvanhov in the contest of thousands of conferences he held between 1938 and 1985. The researcher will find important aspects of further interest by reading or listening directly to his lectures, published by the publisher Prosveta, the sole and exclusive owner of the rights to his work. Therefore, this artcile does not fully and comprehensively describe Aïvanhov's thought on the subject matter.

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